


How to get out of a Monday

by ProfJamie20



Category: The Office (US)
Genre: Angst, Appendicitis, F/M, Fluff, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, I don’t know what to tag so I’m just typing nonsense, Jim has appendicitis, Jim whump, Jim/Dwight/Pam if you squint, Painkillers, Sickfic, Whump, he just doesn’t realize it at first, it doesn’t have to be read that way but it can, medical content, no beta we die like men, painkillers resulting in very strange conversations, sorry if any of the medical stuff is inaccurate I tried my best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:35:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22169506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProfJamie20/pseuds/ProfJamie20
Summary: Jim woke up with a sharp pain in his right side and a mild fever.He could still make it to work, though.-OR-Jim is an idiot who doesn’t look after his health
Relationships: Jim Halpert/Pam Beesly, Pam Beesly/Jim Halpert
Comments: 15
Kudos: 134





	How to get out of a Monday

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I have never had appendicitis before (my appendix has not blown up yet!) and I have very limited medical knowledge, so I apologize deeply for any medical inaccuracies.  
> That being said, I hope you enjoy this! Expect more Jim whump in the future, I love torturing my faves ;)

Jim woke up with a sharp pain in his right side and a mild fever.

He didn’t know what was causing it, but it didn’t seem too bad. It was a nuisance, sure, but it didn’t interfere with anything.

He could still make it to work.

Normally, Jim would jump at the opportunity to miss work, but he and Pam really did need the money, and he did have quite a bit to do since it was the beginning of the week.

Besides, he could move, talk, work. That’s all he really needed. He barely felt bad at all.

What could possibly go wrong?

Jim didn’t tell Pam about whatever was ailing him. He knew that she would just worry unnecessarily and force him to stay at home or, heaven forbid, go to the doctor. There was no need to cause her to panic over something so minor.

The pain in his side was probably just a stitch. Jim was quite prone to pulling things in his sleep, so it seemed likely. The fever was probably just due to a cold or something. Whatever it was, it wasn’t a big deal.

Well, except for the fact that it kept getting worse.

Jim had started to feel the familiar outer chill, overly hot skin, and aching muscles of a higher level fever. He felt weaker, too, and he would sometimes drop things if he wasn’t careful.

The pain was the worst part, though.

His lower right side was in absolute _agony_. It hurt to talk, and breathe, and even just to sit and do nothing. Jim tried to massage the area, but that just caused the pain to double in intensity. Every second that ticked by seemed to cause the area to hurt more and more.

He could still work, though. It was fine. He could handle it.

Jim was typing something on his computer. He kept having to blink spots out of his vision, and he felt like he was boiling alive and freezing to death at the same time, and it was taking every last bit of his strength to not immediately double over in pain, but he was doing just fine.

Pam didn’t seem to think so.

In fact, several people kept stealing concerned glances at him occasionally. Even Dwight was looking at him in confusion.

Great.

“Jim, are you doing alright? You don’t look so good...” Pam asked gently, giving him an expression that was far too concerned.

Exactly what he had wanted to avoid.

“I appreciate the thoughtfulness, but I’m completely fine,” Jim replied in a nonchalant tone, although his voice was much more slurred than he’d like. He could feel sweat beading on his forehead.

“Oh please, you look like you’re on the verge of death,” Dwight countered far too casually considering what he had just said.

“Seriously, Jim, are you sick? You don’t have to stay if you are.” Pam stared at him as if pleading him to just go home.

Jim didn’t need to go home. He was absolutely, positively fine.

“I don—“ Jim let out a noise of discomfort as the pain in his side seemed to triple in intensity. He twisted a hand in his pants and grit his teeth. “I don’t need to go home. _I’m fine_. You don’t need t-to worry.”

Pam just appeared to look more concerned as Dwight rolled his eyes.

“You _really_ don’t look okay...” Oscar piped up, slightly nervously.

“Yeah, I agree. You look really pale,” Phyllis added.

“He looks just fine to me,” said Creed.

“Guys, I’m being serious. I am _perfectly fine_ ,” Jim growled, blinking a few more spots out of his vision. He was practically digging his nails into his leg to fight against the absolutely _unbearable_ pain in his side. He could barely even think, it was so bad. “I’m probably just dehydrated. I’m sure that if I just grab some water, this’ll all clear up.”

He was saying it to convince the others, but also partly to convince himself.

Jim struggled to try and stand up from his chair. He almost fell over at one point, but he managed to stay upright. He was terribly weak and horribly light-headed.

Not to mention the _pain_.

Jim gasped and bent over, one arm on his chair for support and the other gripping his side for dear life.

That, unfortunately, made it ten times worse.

“Oh my god, are you alright?!” Pam asked in a panicked voice. Dwight had stood up suddenly from his chair.

“ _Yes_ , yes I am,” Jim grit out, taking a few moments to try and reorient himself. He felt terribly dizzy and shaky, as if his legs were barely holding him up.

He just needed to drink some water. Then this would all go away. It was fine. _He_ was fine.

Jim took one step away from the chair before his legs immediately gave out underneath him.

Several people screamed or cried out in alarm as he collided with the floor in a terribly ungraceful way. His fall really didn’t help the already torturous pain plaguing his body.

Jim didn’t bother hiding it anymore. He couldn’t, even. He clutched his right side — jerking his hands away and merely hovering them over the area when the pain doubled again — and hissed in pain. He could feel tears pricking behind his tightly closed eyes.

“Oh my god, it _hurts_ , it hurts so much,” Jim gasped out, unable to hide his pain any longer. He felt so weak.

Several people had gathered around him, he could tell. Normally, he would’ve felt embarrassed about being so vulnerable in front of everyone — and he still did, slightly — but he was in far too much pain for his dignity to be a priority.

“I think he might have appendicitis!” Jim heard someone say. He wasn’t sure who. “Someone call an ambulance, now!”

Appendicitis. Why in the hell had he not thought of appendicitis? The signs were all there, clear as day! He really was an idiot.

Everything began to grow farther and farther away as he lay on the ground and shielded his right side. The pain was still unbearable, so he couldn’t stop himself from occasionally gasping or crying out from the pain.

Eventually, he thought he heard some people say “paramedics” and “over here” or something along those lines. He wasn’t sure, though, as it was only a second later that he passed out entirely.

Jim blinked his eyes open slowly as he regained consciousness. His brain felt fuzzy and he was very confused.

Where exactly was he? This didn’t look like the office.

As some of the fog in his mind cleared, Jim realized that he was in a hospital. He was lying in a bed and dressed in a hospital gown. Although, he had no memory of how he had gotten there.

Another thing he noticed was pain. That seemed to be a recurring theme lately.

His whole body hurt. A lot. It wasn’t as bad as before, but it was still very harsh.

“I’m in pain,” Jim blurted out with a slurred voice. He had no idea why he had said that out loud, as he really wasn’t the ‘say things without thinking’ type, but he had. He felt weird.

“Yes, that will sometimes happen after surgery.” Jim almost jumped when the nurse spoke, as he hadn’t realized she was there. “Just try to relax, alright? The morphine should help soon.”

Morphine. That explained his sudden spike of impulsivity.

“Relax? I can’t relax. I never relax,” Jim explained matter of factly. He only relaxed when things were going alright, and they certainly weren’t going alright now. “Are the cameras in here?”

“No, no, they aren’t, don’t worry,” the nurse assured.

Jim sighed. “Good, good.” He looked around the room he was in, both because of the restless energy inside of him and to distract himself from the pain. “You know, normally I’d say something clever and witty at this point, but I’m completely blanking right now. This is awful. I want a refund.”

Right at that moment, Pam walked through the door to his room.

“Pamela!” Jim cried out excitedly, far too loudly to be considered socially acceptable. He was just _really_ happy to see her again.

Pam couldn’t help but laugh. “Hey, Jim.” She moved to sit in a chair next to his bed and grabbed his hand gently. “How are you feeling?”

“Awful. I’m in a lot of pain, but I think the morphine is working better now. Also, I can’t come up with any jokes, Pam! None!”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll think of more later on,” Pam reassured.

Jim grinned widely. “It’s alright, though. I’m doing better now because you’re here. I just— I love you so much, Pam, I just love you so much.”

Pam giggled, her cheeks heating up slightly. “Love you too, nerd.”

Jim’s brain was a muddled mess and also running at a mile a minute, which meant he was getting extremely restless.

Jim groaned slightly. “I’m already so bored, you have no idea. And I have to stay here for 20 more years!”

“It’ll only be a couple of days, don’t worry,” Pam assured.

Jim closed his eyes and sank into his pillow. “It’ll feel like 20 years,” he mumbled. He opened his eyes and looked back at Pam. “Do I still have my job? Am I fired?”

“No, no, you’re not fired. You very much still have your job. You’re just on medical leave right now,” Pam explained.

“Yes! Now I don’t have to go job hunting!” Jim weakly pumped his fist in the air. “Wow, where would I even work if I was fired? Probably at, like... a gold factory or something.” He sighed. “It would suck, though, being fired. I’d never get to see Dwight again. I’d miss pranking him. I already do.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about any of that, because you’re not fired,” Pam said gently, “And I promise, once you’re discharged, we’ll pull a massive prank on Dwight.”

Jim smiled, already thinking of ideas. Or, attempting to, anyway. “That sounds _amazing_. You’re the best, Pam! The best wife in the whole world!”

Pam leaned over and kissed Jim’s forehead softly. “And you’re the best husband in the world.”

Pam eventually had to leave, despite Jim’s protests (he was apparently very clingy when drugged up). She promised she’d be back to visit him, and she promised that other people would come visit him, too. Hopefully when he was on less morphine (unfortunately, that wasn’t always the case).

Eventually, Jim had finished recovering and he was discharged from the hospital. He went home, ate a meal that _didn’t_ consist of hospital food, and spent a lot of quality time with his wife and daughter.

He did eventually have to go back to work, but it wasn’t all bad. He and Pam had succeeded in preparing their biggest prank yet for Dwight, and it had been executed flawlessly.

And, on the bright side, Jim never had to worry about getting appendicitis ever again.

**Author's Note:**

> I got phantom pains in my lower right side while writing this AGSGDDFSFDFGD  
> Anyway, if you enjoyed this PLEASE leave kudos and comments! Especially the latter! Even if it’s just the word “cool” or something, I love hearing from people! <3


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